Griffin was on the same flight, but they’d agreed to pretend not to know each other when they arrived in California. He would make his own way to the naval base. Griffin gave her a single terse nod as she followed Schneider outside, and she flashed him a quick thumbs-up. She felt completely naked without him at her side. Now that she was here in California, hours from beginning the toughest training of her life, she was secretly and selfishly glad that Kettering had sent Griffin with her to face this beast.

Naval Base Coronado was comprised of eight separate military installations, and Schneider took her to a large building in the North Island portion of the base.

No surprise, a dozen news vans from various national outlets were already clustered out front, their mobile satellites pointing at the sky.

And the circus begins.

Schneider directed the driver of their staff car to pull around back. The public affairs officer hustled her inside through a loading dock and tucked her in some poor schmuck’s office that had been appropriated for this fiasco.

“Why all the secrecy, Ensign?” she asked her handler.

“The Pentagon wants a big reveal of you, so that’s what they’ll get.” The kid passed her a garment bag and a roll-aboard suitcase.

“What are these?”

“We had your roommate in Washington, DC send this stuff for you.”

Sherri unzipped the garment bag, not surprised to see several of her uniforms inside. She opened the suitcase and stared down in dismay at her entire pageant tool kit. It included hot rollers, makeup bags, a lighted mirror, hair spray, deodorant, even double-sided carpet tape.

“What’s the tape for?” Schneider asked over her shoulder.

“It holds down a bikini bottom or holds up a dress. Or if you’re wearing something with a super-plunging neckline, the tape will keep you from accidentally flashing the audience.”

“Huh. Live and learn,” the guy mumbled.

“A girl’s got to suffer for beauty,” she commented sarcastically.

“You women can have all that primping and hard work.”

Lucky bastard. “Why is all this stuff here?” she asked him.

“They want you to look your best for the cameras.”

“Of course they do.” Even knowing what she was in for, it irritated her to no end. She’d just spent months busting her butt to be ready for BUD/S. Never mind that she was in the best shape of her life, mentally girded for a trip to hell and back, and carrying in her noggin every trick and hint that Griffin could think of to share with her.

Nope. All that mattered to the powers that be was that she look hot on camera. Fine. They wanted the pageant queen? Then the pageant queen they would get. She sat down at the desk, plugged in her lighted mirror, and went to work.